Cape Town today upon other things is well known as one of the worlds most popular kite surfing destinations. Beeing a training ground for world champions and beginners alike, Cape Town offers a wide variety of very beginner friendly to advanced riding locations. And every year boasts the Red Bull King of the Air. If you are looking to escape from the dead of winter in the northern hemisphere and seeking a warm South African summer holiday destination, then Cape Town is your perfect kite surfing holiday awaiting.

History

There is very little written history before Portugese explorer Bartholomeu Dias first landed upon Cape Town's shores. In 1480, Portuguese navigators with the interests at hand of the Portuguese Royal House, whom where anxious to find a sea route to India around the coast of south Africa to reach the coast of Guinea West Africa arrived in Cape Town.

Shortly after the Portugese Admiral Anotonio de Saladanha landed in 1503, Table Mountain was given its name Taboa da caba or (Table of Cape). In the year 1652 when Dutch explorer Jan van Riebeeck and his employees from the Dutch East India Company were sent to the Cape, there orders where to build a half way station to provide meat, fresh water and vegetables among other things for the ships traveling to and from Asia.

In around the year 1754 the Cape had reached a permanent settlement of about 5,500 Europeans with over 6000 slaves. Shortly after France and Great Britain went to war in 1780, the French sent a small garrison of troops to the Cape to protect against their claims against the British.

After the war between France and England ended in 1814 with a British Victory, the British drew up a complex treaty where pieces of real estate where sold off for money to various countries. With large sums of money the British took over the Cape from the Dutch. From the early 1870´s through the 1880´s the discovery and subsequent exploitation of diamonds and gold let to a rapid change in Cape Town’s economy.

In 1948, the National Party stood for election with its policy for racial segregation, which later became known as apartheid. The already limited voting rights of the Colored community where revoked after a series of bitter and constitutional court battles. In 1966 the vibrant District Six area was bulldozed to the ground and declared a white only area. The Cape was considered a Colored labor preference area to the exclusion of Black Africans. Within only hours of Nelson Mandella being released from prison on Febuary 11th 1990, he made his first public speech. This heralded the beginning to an era for South Africa.

Getting to Cape Town

Travelling to Cape Town can seem a little bit daunting at first. However considering that you can fly direct from many European cities to Cape Town, it is not as difficult in both travel time and itinerary as many might think.

Once you arrive the rewards are far worth the effort, as you will be awe inspired by the Capes natural and historic beauty.

You can find plenty of content here about how people travel to Cape Town on holiday, but if you can't find what you're after, look up the best route on Rome2Rio or give us a call on +27 76 906 8649 and we'll help as best we can.

Driving to Cape Town

If you have time around your kitesurfing you may want to explore the beautiful areas around the Cape, including Cape Flats, Cape Bowl, Helderberg, Northern Suburbs, South Peninsula, and the Southern Suburbs.

A stunning drive and a marvellous and challenging cycle; is the drive around the south, south/east coast of Table Mountain.

Leaving from central Cape Town, you will drive towards Green Point and follow the coast to Clifton, Camps Bay, Llandudno and Hout. From Hout you will drive over the Chapman's Peak Parkway, towards Fish Hoek, Simons Town and Cape Peninsula.

You will discover the natural beauty of Table Mountain, boasting over 2500 species of plants that are indigenous to the Cape area.

Heading North west from Cape Town for a few hours you can visit the world-famous wine farms around Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands.

Hiring a car is usually the sensible option as distances in Cape Town are vast. With a car you can follow the well-known routes like the Garden route for you nature lovers, situated along the N2, it actually stretches all the way to the East Cape, aka ‘Eden of the South’. Or follow the Franschoek pass for breathtaking views. Franschoek pass is 60 Kms east of Cape Town.

Click here for driving directions from Cape Town International Airport, Cape Town Western Cape, South Africa to our School Teaching area in Langebaan, Western Cape, South Africa. (1 hour 31 minutes)

Click here for driving directions along the Franschhoek Pass; yes that is as difficult to pronounce as it is to spell, or otherwise known as Olifantshoek, ¨ difficult again¨. Olifantshoek means (Elephants Corner), it;s name comes from the mythical herds of elephants that used to roam the valleys and mountains along this route. This steep and dramatic pass boasts being South Africa’s first properly engineered roads.

Flying to Cape Town

Cape Town International Airport is the primary airport serving Cape Town and is the second biggest hub in South Africa:

From the airport, you have a number of choices for your onward journey to the city.

Getting Around Cape Town

Myciti

Myciti is Cape Towns main transportation line. With buses running from the airport into the city centre and from the city center as far as Hout to the east and Melkbosstrand to the west. Myciti is both a relatively safe form of transportion and cheap.

One of the only problems with Myciti is you need to have a bus card with credit/load to enter onto the bus, and you can only acquire this pass at selective bus terminals. So if you do not have the Myciti card or you run out of load you will need to find an alternative way to get to one of the select terminals to top upload or purchase a card.

You can purchase a card directly at the airport departure terminal at the Myciti bus terminal. We recommend you top up with at least 500 - 1000 Ran at the airport station if you plan to be in Cape Town for a week or two and move around a bit. From the airport to the city center is 70 Ran. And from the city center to the Kite Beaches of Blouberg is around 30 Ran.

Car Hire

We recommend Rhino Car Rental.

If you’re in South Africa and want to rent a car to get to Cape Town we recommend using Rhino Car Hire. Visit the Rhino Car Hire website.

About Us

Graykite is here to help you learn, enjoy and progress. Our kitesurf and kitesnow schools offer lessons for all ages and skill levels from beginner through improver to advanced level. And we’ve got you covered whatever the season.